“Why Isn’t My Blog More Popular?” Quitters Wonder

January 18, 2011

Old people tend to be bad at blogging, according to a sad, strange trend piece in Crain’s Chicago Business, which is makingtherounds online today so internet experts can chuckle at clueless novices. Like going to the gym, eating healthier and other New Year’s resolution-type self improvement projects, people who fail to see automatic results just up and stop doing it. “[M]aybe I quit blogging because I didn’t have anything to say,” goes one of the many money quotes. “It was my Eat, Pray, Love,” says another. The hits just keep on coming!

Here’s the substance, supposedly:

There are about 31 million blogs in the United States, a number expected to swell to 34 million by the end of this year. But Mr. Harbison is part of a small but growing trend of blog quitters. Last year, the number of blogging teens and adults ages 18 to 33 declined, in the first reported drop in blogging, according to Pew Research Center data.

But for every Julie and Julia or Stuff White People Like, the article points out, there are a bunch of adults who don’t really see the point. Especially if fame isn’t in the cards!

In their own words, curated and mashed together by this impatient blogger:

“I could see it happening, but it wasn’t happening for me,” “You really have to work the blog more,” “wasn’t a giant time investment, but I’d rather be on the phone with a client,” “It wasn’t driving the business, and it wasn’t justifying the effort,” “I wrote one post when I got home and realized that I had something unique to say in New Zealand but not as much as a Chicagoan back in Chicago,” “It was what it was,” “it’s no longer OK to be a mommy or daddy or business blogger,” “It was just a fun little personal project,” “To do it right, it takes time,” “I didn’t want to take that time from my wife or job or kids.”